Finding these videos have had a huge impact on how I will be working in the future as i’m looking into working with moving image and editing, and seeing how Rankin and his crew have worked this way has really opened my eyes to bigger things.

I find inspiration in anything, from what I hear, see, touch, smell and taste. However I do not use all of these senses to inform my work. Hearing and seeing things are the main ones in which I use to help develop my work. Inspiration is an important factor for when I am developing the process of my photography, having information at hand of other practitioners, be it through exhibitions, books, word of mouth of online communities really helps me find inspiration to make my work better. Using tools such as Flickr and Twitter is a really huge information resource at the tip of my fingers and I have come to value these greatly. Being fed information on what other artists are doing, seeing and capturing helps me have a great understanding of how others view the world.

I also find inspiration from my peers at University and my friends. It’s always great to see what everyone is doing and also to give each other feed back to help further our work to make it stronger. Also when my friends comment on my work or ask how did I do that and just showing a general interest in what I do gives me the motivation and the confidence to work harder to keep them always in awe.

I did a post recently about a guy who messaged me via Facebook who had stumbled across my blog. His thoughts and views on my work were a real confidence booster. Yes friends may say your work is good, but they are your friends it is kind of in the rule books, but when a person you have never met before can say such kind words is a real motivator. To hear that I have informed and inspired someone to follow in the work that I have produced has inspired me to keep blogging and sharing out information about how I work and what inspires me and drives me to the images that I produce.

So when told I had to do a blog post on inspiration for 101mc on 3 specific items, it really is hard to pinpoint them. So much has inspired me to do what I do. There is so much inspiration around in our world that we can have to inform ourselves. It’s the a case of getting out there and finding it and putting it to good practice.

Inspiration:

Other artists and photographers

My Peers

Strangers

The world and life itself

Music

People in general

EVERYTHING

I think how ever if I do need to focus on 3 topics that have informed me a great deal this year so far then I would choose Social networking sites such as twitter, Strangers approaching my work and giving them inspiration and finally the camera and its power to record and deliver such powerful messages.

Yesterday I received a message, completely ou of the blue from someone I have never met or spoken to before on Facebook.

The message reads:

“After seeing your comment on Grahams status, i clicked on your name… (Procrastinating, not stalking!) and that lead me to your blog. Which soon after got bookmarked!

Its awesome!

Bookmarked the pinhole camera link too….Thanks for that, im gonna give it a shot. You are right about the fibres on your pin hole pictures, it gives the pictures a little something.

And it also brought back memories of the Lego characters i used to have stood on my desk at home.
Even if they were stood in an orderly line bumming each other.

Sorry to go on so much for being a complete stranger, but did you finish your website? I didn’t see a link on your blog (im busy doing work at the same time so i couldn’t hunt for it).

If you need proof that i am not a stalker, ask Graham….even though, his reply will possibly mean I’m one of the most professional stalkers in the world.

*gets back to work*

I will check your blog next month i guess, keep updating!
:)”

I was completely taken back by this message, I have a pretty low confidence in myself and normally with my work – not to mention with this blog, and receiving this message has really lifted my spirits.

If this one person has been affected by my blogging and is actually interested in what I have to say – then this is good enough for me.

This blog is originally for my 101mc module for university. But now afer this message I feel that it is much more to me. It is another form of networking.

I am taking his advice on board and I am definitely going to be using this blog much more often to post my inspirations, thoughts and developments. I will probably also use it for random unnecessary posts but what ever the use, it will be used!

His posts are informative and they are not all about his work, it is about past and present street photographers and he is simply passing on information, his views and his opinions of street photography. He also questions the differences between street photography now and that in the past, similiarily to the article by Sean O’Hanagan that got handed out during our first session back…